I cannot believe it!!! Yesterday marked 50 days blogging in a row. I am officially half way done with this challenge and the funny thing is I feel like I am only just getting started…and that is great!
#31days2021-The Power of Your Influence
Many of you know that I planned on doing this from the beginning of the 100 days and when I started on Friday I had a plan. Don’t worry I still do! But I hit a snag. It was with my Patience Post which will go live tomorrow. I had made a big mistake and I found it….as I thought I was wrapping it up.
I was frustrated and discouraged. And I will be honest, I wasn’t at all being patient with myself- How fitting right! I set it aside and continued on my journey. And this morning as I was proof reading and fixing it I realized two things
First it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
I saw a major amount of growth within myself. Once upon a time I would have done whole bunch of negative self talk. I would have just saved that sucker as a draft never to revisit it again- (can I just say that I deleted over 30 such posts about 3 weeks ago) AND I would have avoided blogging altogether because those types of things made me think I was just posing as a blogger (AKA I suffer from spotter syndrome)
The amount of growth that I saw this morning as I plugged through the mistake- a mistake that I made a complete mountain out of two days ago- I worked through and didn’t give up on it. THAT”S HUGE PROGRESS!
The FAM
The older two kids are about half way through their soccer season and they are both enjoying playing with their teams.
The older two and Hubby returned from their hiking trip in the Adirondaks yesterday. They had a great time.
Hubby starts an internship today with our church we have been attending and the search process continues with a get to know you interview tomorrow night.
The Younger two are plugging away at school and all of their adventures.
As I look over the last month or two we have all been on a journey of being stretched. Many are in ways that we have never been stretched before. And That is great. That means as a family we are on a learning journey. We want to do new things and explore new areas of ourselves personally and grow.
Reading
As I grow on my reading Journey I have learned something about my reading goals- As much as I like to finish books every month I have to let go of some of that because the reality is when you have to read a bunch of books at the same time , they might now all get read in one month. So this month I am in line to finish 6 books.
We will finish another morning basket book today or tomorrow (Corrie ten Boom) and I have already finished S.H.A.P.E.
Blogging (in General)
I have been staying ahead. I have been able to blog every single morning since changing my routine and that has been amazing. I know I am setting up habits for the future and that is a huge encouragement!
I am also beginning to see a blogging routine formulate in my brain for after the 100 days challenge is over! It will look different and I am contemplating letting somethings go. It’s funny because once you have a distinct purpose in something it forces you to evaluate what you do through the lens of that purpose.
Your Turn!
How are you guys doing in the areas of growth you have chosen. Are you meeting Your goals? Do your goals or perspectives need to change? Have you seen any areas of major growth? I can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to in the comments!
Good morning! And I can ACTUALLY say that! I have and am in the process of making some big changes around here. As much as I have loved this writing project for 100 days I have hated every minute of the schedule I was keeping! I have been thinking and praying a lot about how to change the cycle I was in but nothing came to be until yesterday.
And then I remembered something……
Let’s Go Back in time (Cue Time machine sounds and funky music)
See the girl over there sitting in the old brown restaurant style booth. She’s had a busy afternoon and evening and now she was settling in to focus on her schoolwork- She’s a college student. She has a lot of trouble focusing She always has. She has so many things bouncing around in her brain.
But recently she made a discovery. She discovered that if she spent 30 minutes writing creatively then she could focus really well. And right now she is the only person in the room (that’s why it’s her favorite spot) but if she hurries she can get the creative writing in before the mad rush of people come into the student center for snacks and social time. So she put her head down and began scrawling down the new idea that had been bouncing around in that brain of hers all day.
Something Magic
With Each passing word that flowed out the end of her writing utensil her brain became alive and focused and driven. She had focus like she has never had before. Words came quickly and she almost never had to stop, erase or rethink the wording.
And then she was done. She would pack away her writing piece never to return to it again. And then the truly magical thing happened- She pulled out her schoolwork and she began working At some point the quietness turned into a murmur and then to a dull roar. There was chaos going on around her but that didn’t matter Her brain was calmed and she could focus on anything now. The time came fore her to close her books and she headed back to her dorm room. She changed, climbed into bed and laid there wondering why on earth she couldn’t fall asleep. Her brain was fully alive and functioning, not in the haze it had been that afternoon.
*cue time machine sounds and funky music* with a brief stop at yesterday.
Is that that the same girl?
The time machine comes t a screeching halt in front of a blue house and hey is that the same girl sitting out from with her journal in front of her.? The posture is the same. Hunched over her work. Her hair is the same color just shorter and she looks older. But she is just as busy scribbling away. She stops. She looks up. She is thinking about something. The girl in the booth didn’t do that. A smile spreads across her face. She picks up a strange flat box sitting next to her. Her fingers fly across the screen. Oh wait the front door open a teenager comes out, he’s holing a soccer ball, and he starts talking to her…He calls her MOM. She answers his question and he goes back inside. Wow a lot has changed for that college student sitting in that booth from so long ago.
She goes back to scribbling furiously. She stops picks up her head and smiles. It’s almost as if she remembered something. She picks up that flat shiny box again and turns it on . She looks startled. She pushes the chair away from the table gets her stuff together and heads inside. I guess it is time for me to head back to today. I climb back in my time machine and I look back as the front door closes behind her and I smile.
*cue Time Machine Sounds and Funky music*
An AHA moment and a Change
As I sit here this morning typing furiously on my laptop, I smile because I know exactly what that girl was going through…both that one from 20 years ago AND the one from yesterday. Because I am that girl. And I have been frustrated as of late. Yesterday when I was scribbling in that journal- my prayer time to be exact- I was asking God to help me figure out this writing schedule problem. It’s kinda been a vicious cycle over the last five weeks. And just like the girl from 20 years ago I will write my brains out before bed and then go upstairs and read I will be tired but my brain has been snapped back to life and I will lay there contemplating everything from what needs to be done tomorrow to….who knows what else. Then I wake up in the morning and I’m sluggish and unfocused. I have to fight my way through my devotions because my brain is not focused. Then the kids wake up and the demands of the day start.
By the time the kids go to bed at night I flop down in the chair with my laptop and I begin to write. And the cycle starts all over again.
But that me from yesterday had an aha! moment . She remembered the girl from 20 years ago. AND she was writing to another person online who was sharing how she handled her priorities and focused on each one. Her strategy struck a deep chord with me.
Overwhelmed and frustrated
I know as moms (and humans in general) we all tend to feel like this. We have so much to do and keep track of. We have so many priorities to focus on Our kids, our husband, our home, our physical health our friends, church, our relationship with Jesus, perhaps an outside job whether it be at home or out of the home…..and the list goes on and on. and we all feel the need to be balanced and yet we can’t stop the mad cycle.
So as I sent a few DM’s back and forth with Crystal Paine (The Money Saving Mom) about how she handles her priorities the thought of 21 year old me came flooding back as well. About how writing has always cleared my brain and helped me to focus and get stuff done. And then this question resonated deep in my heart WHAT IF I WROTE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING? HMMMM.
The Change
There are 3 things that are going to change over the rest of this week-
Writing will happen first thing in the morning. This might change after the 100 Days of blogging project is over. It may look a little different just in it might not be blogging everyday, but there will be some form of “writing” being done.
I am going to set up a habit tracker of the must do things that NEED to get done every single day. These will be based on my six priorities.
Then each day I will pick out which two priorities I will focus on for that day. I need to learn exactly what “Time blocking” is -that will help the focused time for each day.
I love what Crystal said yesterday in her Instagram Stories. “I only have two hands, so I only pick two priorities to focus on everyday”. She says that when she does this it means that she will visit all of her priorities in focused time at least once a week (obviously it might be more). But then you don’t have to stress over neglecting something.
Wow what a relief from the pressure I have been putting on myself for a very long time.
I know this isn’t the typical weekly update but it is the major thing that has been a frustration for a while and now I have this overwhelming sense of Freedom.
Have you struggled with these thoughts and feelings before? It cycles through for me and I would love to hear your thoughts and strategies in the comments below!
Thanks for joining me for Day 37 of my Choosing Courage 100 day blogging project. If you are new here you can check out this blog post that explains it all.
And if you have fallen behind or missed some posts you can check it out here
Wowsers….I cannot believe that we are at our week 4 update! Day 30 to be exact! It’s the longest blogging streak I have ever had and even though I had a glitch with the blogI still wrote the posts and all I had do was copy and paste them into the post template!
Hello Fears Update
HA! I finally finished reading chapter 3. Things have slowed down quite a bit and I am finally settling into a routine. And I finally feeling like I am accomplishing something!
I will be sharing the journaling parts of this chapter and the rest that I accomplish on Friday this week so stay tuned.
I want tyou to remember that I have not yet reviewed this book and just because I am blogging my way through this book I have not yet recommended it. I will write my review when I am finished with the book!
If you are interested you can Check out Michelle Poler’s Youtube channel here
Family Update
We are well into the soccer season and we have already had two gamed Child #1 and Child #2 are having a lot of fun learning and improving their skills. We are also into our third week of homeschooling and the kids have done great! Even with some of the extra things we have going on. I have been growing leaps and bounds in so many areas and I got the results f my 1 month iron infusion results back. I’m normal…..WELL…….Nevermind! and hubby, well there are some amazing things happening for our family and we are excited to see where God is leading us.
Blogging Update
I am so excited to share some upcoming ideas with you tomorrow. I have had some aha moments this week specifically in church on Sunday. I am constantly amazed just how much God knows us! I shouldn’t be. But then moments happen like Sunday that leave me sitting staring at the pastor (a friend of ours for over 20 years) with my mouth hanging open. I know he didn’t know what has been on my mind. I mean I didn’t even tell my hubby- they have been just ideas swirling around in my head- I haven’t even uttered them in prayer yet. And wow- now I have answers. Stay tuned tomorrow for those details!
What have I learned by Choosing Courage
Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned this week is a mistake or maybe it’s better described as a trap I have fallen into. That trap was something that came to light on Sunday- but I am not talking about that tomorrow . I am going to share that part of Sunday right now.
When I took on this writing project I made a promise to you my readers and to myself that I was going to be Honest where I am at.
So let me be honest
This aha moments started a few weeks ago when I filled out a questionnaire for Pastor’s wives for a potential pastor position for hubby and one of the questions had to do with devotions and Bible study. Now I am a firm believer that you need to have both but sometimes we get confused… we let ourselves get lost in the process of Bible study……We almost have tunnel vision as we seek out the tiny details. It’s not like the Bible becoming a textbook per see- it’s like playing hide n seek with details. We need to study God’s word and we need to understand it and that is very helpful but it can become less personal.
Our pastor on Sunday reminded the congregation of the challenge he brought to them at the beginning of the year (we didn’t attend that church at the time. So we didn’t hear it. He challenged them to be immersed in as much God’s words possible. And I generally do that but something happened …actually a bunch of things happened…..
I Lost my Passion
I lost my passion because of damaging words…words that assumed they knew my heart….knew me. They assumed they could determine my motive because of what I wrote. Sadly as those words flew from their fingertips and their mouths I built a wall….around my heart. but it wasn’t the people…it was God’s word . Because That is where my passion came from. That is what motivated my writing. And when I stopped soaking in the word, my passion crumbled and my words now felt forced.
That list I have of blog post ideas- they were all born out of reading God’s word but as it sat on those planner pages the passion tricked out of them….and as I have tried to revisit them, I cannot pull back that passion out of them.
So what now?
So last night I talked to my friend who is the beginning of my prayer team and shared with her all the things. And so I know where these posts originated from- mostly the epistles- so everyday I am going to read some of them- immersing myself in God’s word again- fueling my passion. I did it last night before bed. I am reading James. Out of verses 3 blog posts were worked on. 1 already existed (on that post list) and 2 more new ones! And the excitement returned. AND there’s no fear.
Don’t wprry I am not giving up on my Bible study either My friend and I decided that I should focus on the study on the weekends. So Philippians will be in baby steps and let the immersion commence.
Thank you so much for doing me for the week 4 update of my Choosing Courage – 100 day writing project. If you want to check out the rest of the posts here
Hey all! Welcome to my week 3 update. I cannot believe we are at day 22 of the Choosing Courage 100 day writing Project. Tonights post is going to be super short. Mostly because I have a headache. This project is flying by.
Progress on Hello Fears
I am sad to say I haven’t made much progress in it. We can chalk it up t poor time management ands crazy busy schedule and tiredness- from said crazy busy schedule.
I am actually going to finish Chapter 3 before heading to bed tonight-
(Hello Fears is a book I am currently blogging through – new concept for me, This is not a review and I am not recommending this book by blogging through it- My review and any recommendations will come once I finish the book.
Family Update
Tonight was the older two kiddos first soccer game of the season. And I actually got to go watch it. Last year with al of the restrictions I had to rely on pics but I got first hand experience of watching them play!
Blogging Update
I am doing it. Three days a week are harder posts to write but I have settled into the new blogging schedule quite well. I had a whopping one day where I was ahead ! LOL. But I have a plan to get ahead by the end of the week…for night’s like tonight where I have a headache and wan to go to bed!
I also really don’t like posting at night time but that is the rhythm I now find myself in. (I used to blog at nap time- but since I am the only one who sometimes takes naps I guess that isn’t going to help me! ) That’s why being a couple of days ahead.
What I have learned by choosing courage
I am enjoying the process though with turning out so much content I am struggling to give each post the attention it needs. Which is a great realization, It gives me perspective for once the 100 days of this writing project is over. I need build in space to “sit on” aka think about a post before I post it. I can’r tell you the number of times I woke up a day or two later with a FABULOUS idea to add to the post. And before long I get into my day and forget all about it.
The second thing I have learned is that I NEED to do my writing in the morning. I am not quite sure what this looks like in our current lives. I just know it needs to happen because that is when my mind is the sharpest and when I have the most energy!
How about you have you joined me on this journey? are you Choosing Courage in some area or are you doing the 100 Day Project in a completely different way? If so let me know in the comments bellow.
If you are new here check out the other Choosing Courage posts here.
Wow When I said that I was totally dumbfounded that 9 days have flown by so quickly but then in the next breath I say only 91 more todays. YIKES I need to stop that.
I have finished nearly 25% of the book (Hello Fears). Note I am only blogging through the book and I cannot yet recommend the book. I will write a full review at the end of the book. I don’t usually blog though a book like this, The verdict is out on whether I ever do it again,
How am I doing?
The first few days were rough. Fears were tough to fight through but I pushed through those and faced my fears, I posted two blog posts off my list of posts I have been putting off And I shared my artwork. I have managed to blog every single day without missing a single day, TOUGH it it did result in some late nights. Including an evening with some pretty severe stomach issues relating to a very obvious bad food choice.
Now at this point I am not really thinking much about what I fear before I hit the publish button. I am not so naive to think that those little fears won’t rear their ugly little heads again.
All of This has shown me that despite our crazy schedules that I still can find time to blog. A lie I had bout into for awhile now. It’s amazing what we tell ourselves when we are fearful of something. And that I can write without being afraid.
A personal update
it’s been 3-ish weeks since my last iron infusion and I am noticing a huge difference. The severe anxiety is almost non-existent. My heart is not racing non-stop. The icky taste in my mouth is fading. I am sleeping better. I am not short of breath And I can make it through most days without a nap or without going to lay down between 7 and 8 pm.. My mind is clearer and I am able to get way more done in the day.
Today I had an appointment with the Allergist who also specializes in immunology. I have had low IGG and IGA levels for sometime. So Over the last 5 weeks I have been (hopefully) growing antibodies. only managed to grow about 40% of what I should have. So starting within the next week or so I will start getting monthly infusions of antibodies . It’s a two hour process so I need to line up my future reading! I mean I have my list – so I guess I won’t be bored. I think I need to come up with something else to do as well. Goodness two hours to just sit and read. maybe I need a list of podcasts to listen to as well.
Family update
Our oldest two are embarking on their second year of soccer. And everyone is starting our second year of homeschooling. Hubby is in full swing of the church search and we are moving forward in every area. We are excited to wrap up the summer with some slip n slide fun with friends and just like that we slide into a new school year.
Thanks for hanging out with me through this first week of Choosing Courage and if you are new here you can check out the other 9 days by clicking here.
